Yarn package



Nov. 26, 1968 M. D. DELERUE 3,412,849 4 YARN PACKAGE Original Filed Oct. 1, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR. M DOM/-10 UE DEL anus BY KM W Nov. 26, 1968 M. D. DELERUE YARN PACKAGE Original Filed Oct. 1, 1964 M- DOAIBGI VIQUE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ELERUE United States Patent 3,412,849 YARN PACKAGE M. Dominique Delerue, 189 Blvd. Descat, Tourcoing, Nord, France Original application Oct. 1, 1964, Ser. No. 400,845, now Patent No. 3,337,144, dated Aug. 22, 1967. Divided and this application July 7, 1967, Ser. No. 664,579

1 Claim. (Cl. 20659) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rocket-shaped annular package of helical windings of synthetic filaments crossing each other at a rate of 1.5 to 3 rotations of a winding spindle whereon the package is wound per one axial movement in a single direction of a guide leading the filaments to the spindle, and a liquid permeable wrapper completely enveloping the package. The diameter of the central cavity of the cylindrical package portion is between 75% and 90% of the outer diameter of this portion, and its thickness is between 5% and 12.5% of the diameter. The angle of the conical end portion of the package varies between and This is a division of application Ser. No. 400,845, filed Oct. 1, 1964, now Patent No. 3,337,144, issued Aug. 22, 1967.

The present invention relates to a new type of annular package of filamentary material in the form of a rocketshaped cake.

The rocket-shaped cake of this invention facilitates the uniform dyeing of synthetic yarns which shrink greatly under Wet treatment, particularly such as crimped nylon yarns and the like, and also makes it possible directly to feed the dyed yarn from the filamentary package to weaving or knitting machines, without rewinding.

So-called super-cops or rocket shaped filamentary packages are known but when synthetic yarns, which may shrink as much as 185% during dyeing, for instance, are stored in this manner, the considerable width or thickness of the packages prevents the filamentary material from shrinking freely during dyeing or other wet treatment. Irregularities, therefore, result in the material, which causes difficulties and/ or poor quality in knitting or weaving the yarns into fabrics. Furthermore, if crimped fibers cannot shrink freely, they lose their resiliency and this, in turn, increases the shrinkage of fabrics made from such yarns.

It is the primary object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages by providing an annular filamentary package I call a rocket-shaped cake, which resembles conventional rocket-shaped cops by its large conical angle at one end, the absence of a rigid interior support and the formation of rapid filament crossings but whose radius or width is much smaller than that of the conventional rocket-shaped cops, thus leaving a very large interior cavity permitting considerable shrinkage of the cake. In its small radius, the rocket-shaped cake of this invention resembles a bobbin cake but, contrary thereto, it has helical windings extending in an axial di rection and it may be unraveled, rather than being unwound like a bobbin cake.

The diameter of the interior or central cylindrical cavity of rocket-shaped cakes of the invention is about 75% to 90% of the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion of the cake so that the thickness of the annular cake varies between about 5% and 12.5% of its outer diameter and the filamentary material may shrink sufficiently. The angle of the conical end portion of the cake varies between about 10 and 40, and the helical windings of the filamentary material cross each other at a rate of 1.5 to 3 rotations of the winding spindle per one movement of the yarn guide in an axial direction. The entire cake is covered by a liquid permeable wrapper. Such cakes may be piled into dyeing tubes on dyeing machines where they may be pressed together without being hindered in their shrinkage.

The new synthetic yarn packages have many advantages over conventional cakes, including a higher uniformity of dyeing, substantial suppression of matting during dyeing, and, in the case of dyeing in dyeing tubes, the possibility of obtaining packages of shorter length after dyeing since the rocket-shaped filamentary packages are compressed along their length, which facilitates their handling and placement for feeding to weaving or knitting machines. They may be unraveled, i.e. their windings are removed from the outside of the package, and thus may be used directly and without rewinding at the textile manufacturing plant.

Furthermore, the new annular filamentary package permits winding much more material on a package, which increases the productivity not only in making the package but also in feeding the fabric-making machines. In contrast to conventional bobbin cakes, the packages of this invention may be very rapidly unraveled, which reduces the number of spindles used at the fabric producing plants.

In accordance with this invention, an annular filamentary package is produced on a winding apparatus comprising a spindle mounted for rotary motion about an axis and a yarn guide means mounted adjacent the spindle for linearly reciprocating motion in the direction of the axis. The spindle executes 1.5 to 3 rotations per each unidirectional axial movement of the yarn guide means. A shaft is mounted for synchronized rotary motion about an axis parallel to the spindle axis, the spindle and the shaft being rotatable in the same direction. A fixed helical guide means, such as a housing having an interior wall and a helical groove in the Wall, surrounds the rotary shaft and means, such as a roller, is fixedly mounted on the shaft and engages the guide means whereby the rotary motion of the shaft is converted to a linearly reciprocating motion in the direction of the axes. A lost motion means connects the shaft and the yarn guide. The lost motion means is connected to the shaft for axial movement therewith and transmits the linearly reciprocating but not the rotary motion of the shaft to the yarn guide.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the yarn guide means is supported on one end of a rod and the other end of the rod is joined to the lost motion means. A fulcrum is arranged intermediate the rod ends for pivotal movement of the rod about the fulcrum.

In accordance with a specific embodiment, the lost motion means comprises a second shaft coaxial with the first-named shaft, bearing means connecting the shafts, anti-friction means arranged in the bearing means whereby the rotary motion of the first-named shaft is not transmitted to the second shaft while its linearly reciprocating motion is transmitted thereto, and linkage means arranged between the yarn guide and the second shaft for transmitting the linearly reciprocating motion of the second shaft to the yarn guide.

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent in the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a side view, partly in longitudinal section, of the new yarn package, called rocket-shaped cake, of this invention; and

FIG. 2 illustrates preferred winding apparatus for producing the rocket-shaped cake of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A shows a modified detail of the apparatus.

Referring now to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows an annular package 1 of wound filamentary material, preferably crimped synthetic filaments, such as crimped nylon yarn, whose surface windings are entirely surrounded by a wrapper 4 of liquid-permeable material.

In the illustrated embodiment, the yarn package or cake is wound onto a tubular spool 3 of a yielding material, such as paper or the like, whose one end has a frustoconical flange 3. The spool 3 defines an axially extending cavity 2 to permit shrinkage of the synthetic filamentary material during dyeing operations, the spool material yielding under the inward pressure of the shrinking yarn package. Before the filamentary material is wound on the spool to produce the annular rocket-shaped cake, a liquid permeable wrapper or cake cover 4, for instance of very thin cotton with a multitude of openings, is placed underneath the spool in a manner to be explained more fully hereinbelow and is extended axially along the spool wall as the cake is formed so as to cover the wall of the spool and to prevent the innermost surface windings of the cake to become disranged and matted during dyeing. In this manner all the innermost surface windings of the cake are surrounded by wrapper 4, which separates these windings from the spool in the manner clearly shown in FIG. 1, and at the end of the cake formation, the end portion of the tubular cake cover is folded back over the cake to surround the outermost cake windings, too, the cake cover end portion 4' overlapping the other end portion of the cover so that the wrapper 4 fully encloses the annular yarn package 1.

If desired, the spool 3 of yielding material may be omitted and the filamentary material may be wound directly onto the cake cover supported on a spindle.

As will be noted from the drawing, the new annular yarn package of this invention has no rigid interior support and consists of helical windings crossing each other. The radius of the annular filamentary package 1 is a fraction of the diameter of the cylindrical cavity 2 of the package, the diameter of this cavity being 75% to 90% of the outer diameter of the package. The small width of the annular filamentary package makes it possible to permit shrinkage of the synthetic yarn, which may be two to two and a half times during dyeing of crimped nylon fibers, for instance. Such a crimped nylon yarn package may have an outer diameter of about 300 to 320 mm. and a thickness or radius of to mm. before shrinkage. At its end, the annular yarn package 1 has frustoconical yarn portions with a cone angle of about 10 to Due to the nature of the windings, the yarn may be unraveled from the package, when it is used at a knitting or weaving plant, for instance, ie it may be withdrawn from the exterior of the package, rather than being unwound, i.e withdrawn from the package interior.

After the rocket-shaped cake is formed, it is taken off the spindle on which it has been supported during winding. It may now be subjected to dyeing by stacking a number of such cakes in dyeing tubes of suitable dyeing machines or simply by immersing them in dyeing vats. After dyeing, the cakes may be handled and transported without particular care. At the weaving or knitting plant, the cake covers are removed and the yarn may be unraveled at great speed, due to the rapid crossing of the yarn windings, thus avoiding complicated handling and onerous unwinding experienced with conventional bobbins. Furthermore, the unraveling of the new annular yarn packages of this invention necessitates no prior stretching of the yarns, which may cause irregular extension of some windings. Also, the new annular packages of synthetic yarns assure complete uniformity in dyeing while permitting the uniform shrinkage of the yarns.

FIG. 2 illustrates the preferred apparatus according to the invention for winding the new annular filamentary package at great speed, simultaneously imparting to the yarn the rapid crossings of its helical windings, needed to facilitate the unraveling of the yarn after dyeing.

As shown, the synthetic filament 1, for instance a crimped nylon yarn, is led from a source (not shown), i.e. a spinning machine, around an elongated guide post 34 mounted on platform 35 to the yarn guide 21. Fixed tubular housing 31 is supported on platform 35 and the interior wall of housing 31 defines a helical ramp 32. A cylindrical drum 33 is mounted coaxially within tubular housing 31 and turns about the common axis of the housing and drum, being supported for rotation on shaft 102 which passes axially through the drum and beyond platform 35 for connection to a suitable source of power (not shown) for rotating the drum. The drum 33 has a diametrically extending slot 8 extending longitudinally of the drum, the diameter of central shaft 102 being larger than the width of slot 8. Shaft 102 carries two fixed lugs 5 extending symmetrically from the shaft through slot 8 and one of the lugs supporting at its end a roller 7 engaged in the ramp or groove 32 for helical guidance therein during rotation of the shaft and drum. In this manner, means is provided for converting the rotary motion of shaft 102 into a linearly reciprocating motion of the shaft, the shaft moving up nad down along axis 100 as roller 7 runs in helical groove 32 during rotation of the shaft and drum 33 fixedly mounted thereon.

The upper end of shaft 102 is coupled to coaxially mounted shaft 11 in the following manner.

A flanged bearing sleeve 9 at the upper end of shaft 102 carries a horizontally arranged anti-friction bearing, i.e. ball bearings 10, and a like flanged bearing sleeve 12 carrying like ball bearings 13 is arranged adjacent thereto around the adjacent end of shaft 11. A horizontally extending disc 14 is integral with the end of shaft 11 so that the bearing sleeves 9 and 12 may run freely on the ball bearings around the shaft 11, roller bearings 15 being mounted between shaft 11 and bearing sleeve 12. In this manner, the rotary motion of shaft 102 is not transmitted to shaft 11, which remains fixed against rotation but receives the linearly reciprocating motion from shaft 102, thus moving up and down with it. The shaft 11 is held in upper housing 17 placed over fixed housing 31 and including at its top a bearing 101 wherein an end of shaft 11 may glide for axial movement.

A radially'extending arm 16 is fixedly supported on axially reciprocating shaft 11 and a reduced portion of arm 16 passes out of housing 17 through longitudinal slot 30 extending through the housing wall in an axial direction, i.e. in the direction of reciprocation of shaft 11 and arm 16. The end of arm 16 carries joint 18 to which a rod 19 is connected at right angle to arm 16. Intermediate its ends, rod 19 is mounted on pivoting axle or fulcrum 20 which is mounted on the apparatus in any suitable manner (not shown) so that the rod 19 may pivot about this fulcrum when its one end at joint 18 is reciprocated linearly by arm 16. The other end of rod 19 carries an eye serving as yarn guide 21. In this manner, means is provided for transmitting the linearly reciprocating motion of shafts 102 and 11 to a like linearly reciprocating motion of the yarn guide so that yarn 1, which is held in the yarn guide and guided thereby, will be wound rapidly in helical windings.

The annular filamentary package is wound on spindle 104 which is rotated in the same direction as, and in synchronism with, the drum 33 by any suitable means (not shown).

The operating of this winding apparatus will partly be apparent from the above description of its structure and will be more fully explained hereinafter:

In turning about its axis 100, the drum 33 forces the roller 7 to rise and descend along the helical path of ramp or groove 32 and thus translates rotary motion into a linearly reciprocating motion of shafts 102 and 11, which is transmitted to yarn guide 21. Accordingly, the

yarn guide passes rapidly up and down along the axial extension of the spindle to form the annular yarn package, the rotational speed of shaft 102 and spindle 104 being identical and such that 1.5 to 3 rotations are executed for each axial movement of guide 21 in one direction. A yarn compaction cone 110 of known structure and function is indicated only schematically to show the formation of the frusto-conical end portion of the cake which is wound on the spindle in rapidly crossing helical windings.

Obviously, shafts 102 and 11 could be constituted by a single integral shaft, such as shown at 111 in FIG. 2A, and, alternatively, the arm 16 could be mounted on this single shaft for free rotary motion, i.e. by interposing anti-friction bearings 151 between the shaft 111 and the bearing of arm 16. In this manner, too, the rotary motion of the shaft will not be transmitted to arm 16 but its linearly reciprocating motion will be transmitted thereto since the arm bearing is held on the shaft for axial movement therewith.

As mentioned in connection with the description of FIG. 1, the innermost windings of the annular filamentary package are wound onto a cake cover or wrapper 4, for which purpose the permeable wrap er must be interposed between the spindle and the filamentary material or, if a paper or like spool is used, the spool is placed on the spindle and the wrapper sleeve is interposed between the spool and the filamentary material. The Wrapper is applied in the following manner:

Before the filamentary package is wound on spindle 104, a conical wrapper support element 105 is mounted on the spindle, being removably fixed thereon by stud 107 engaged in keyway 106 at the upper end of the spindle. The upper portion of support element 105 defines an annular cavity 108 whose walls carry peripherically extending saw teeth 109 or like wrapper retaining means. The end of the tubular wrapper material is held by these teeth during rotation of the spindle under the centrifugal force imparted thereto to hold the wrapper in position while the innermost windings are placed thereover. After mounting element 105 on the spindle, the wrapper sleeve 4 is pulled out of cavity 108 of element 105 over this element and the spindle, and to avoid damage to the wrapper at the beginning of the cake formation, due to the strong centrifugal forces applied thereto during the rapid rotation of the spindle, the other wrapper sleeve end is held in a frusto-conical casing 103 attached to the base of spindle 104. As shown in FIG. 2, the other Wrapper end is held in this casing, in a folded condition and is fed out of the casing to underlie the innermost filamentary windings at the same rate as the filamentary package is formed under the action of cone 110 which gradually moves casing 103 downwardly.

If desired, a paper or like spool may first be placed over element 105 and spindle 104 so that the wrapper will cover the spool instead of the spindle, as shown in FIG. 1. After the package is wound, it is removed from the spindle, the one end of the Wrapper in element 105 and other end of the wrapper remaining in casing 103 both being folded over the outer windings of the package in the manner illustrated in FIG. 1.

It is important to note that it is essential for the crossing of the helical windings of the new filamentary package to be very rapid, i.e. the number of rotations of the spindle per single stroke of the linearly reciprocating yarn guide, must be 1.5 to 3 to facilitate the unraveling of the new yarn package after dyeing.

What I claim is:

1. A rocket-shaped annular package of synthetic filamentary material, comprising a cylindrical filamentary portion and a frusto-conical filamentary end portion, the cylindrical filamentary portion defining a cylindrical central cavity, the diameter of the central cavity being between about and of the outer diameter of the cylindrical filamentary portion and the thickness of the cylindrical filamentary portion being between 5% and 12.5% of the said outer diameter, the angle of the conical end portion varying between about 10 and 40, the package consisting of helical windings of the filamentary material which cross each other at a rate of 1.5 to 3 rotations of a winding spindle whereon the package is wound per one axial movement in a single direction of a guide leading the filamentary material to the spindle, and a liquid permeable wrapper completely enveloping the annular package.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner. 

